Scott’s Shawarma is now open in the Fan

Scott’s Shawarma is a fast casual Mediterranean restaurant serving shawarma wraps and platters with chicken, lamb and beef, as well as falafel, kebabs, burgers and wings.

“Shawarma is a tradition I grew up with in Jerusalem. This is the best street food in the Middle East. Now we transport it here,” said owner Mahmoud Farah.

Farah, 35, is Palestinian but grew up in Jerusalem, in the Qalandia refugee camp. At the age of 17, Farah, who holds dual citizenship, moved to New York to escape the harsh living conditions of the Middle East.

“There were no jobs there,” Farah said. “It was a difficult life. You never knew what was going to happen. There were shots, explosions.

In New York, he first took a job at a slaughterhouse, then at the King of Falafel & Shawarma, a popular food cart, where he learned to prepare shawarma and Middle Eastern street food. He eventually started his own food truck and valet business, but when the pandemic hit in 2020 and New York City shut down, he found himself out of work.

“I want my family to have a better life,” Farah said. He and his wife were looking for a better place to raise their two young children and discovered Richmond while visiting a friend.

He launched Scott’s Shawarma at the Scott’s Provisions deli counter in Scott’s Addition in 2022, naming it after the neighborhood. Drawing on his knowledge of New York shawarma and street food, he developed his own recipes using spices shipped by family members in Jerusalem.

At Scott’s Shawarma, two skewers spin on spits; one is marinated chicken, the other is a mixture of spicy beef and lamb. The shawarma can be ordered as a sandwich ($11.99 to $12.99) served on house-made saj bread, which is an unleavened flatbread cooked on a metal griddle, or in plates (15, $99 to $17.99) including rice, Greek salad or tabbouleh.

Farah, with help from her brother, makes all the sauces in house, including white sauce, a yogurt-based hot sauce with lemon and vinegar; garlic sauce; tahini; and a spicy garlic sauce.

The falafels are fatty and hearty, with six fried falafel balls stuffed into saj bread or pita, or served on platters ($9.99 to $16.99).

At the new Fan location, Scott’s Shawarma also serves beef or chicken skewers as sandwiches or platters ($12.49 to $19.49). There’s also kobeh, a fried Middle Eastern dish made with cracked bulgur, chopped onions, spices, ground beef and nuts ($7.99 to $14.99), as well as baba ghanoush and homemade hummus. Scott’s offers wings ($8.99 for six, $16.99) bison or barbecue, as well as burgers ($6.99 to $9.99) and fries.

Scott’s Shawarma attracted a loyal fan in Scott’s Addition, but when the rent went up, Farah decided to look for her own place. After he left, the owner kept the name, but Farah says he still gets calls and texts from his former guests who tell him the food doesn’t taste the same.

Fan’s new location was formerly the home of Capitol Burgers & Dogs and, before that, Tokyo Sushi. It’s a small space that can accommodate 16 people and does a good takeaway business. If you sit at the window, you can see the dome of the Science Museum of Virginia.

In Henrico County, Farah also has another Scott’s Shawarma location inside a Mobil gas station at 5401 Glenside Drive, which is larger and allows space for preparation.

“Everything is fresh,” he says. From meats to sauces to salads, everything is prepared in house. The shawarma is marinated overnight, prepared fresh daily and sells out regularly.

“Shawarma is a passion,” Farah said. “No one knew about shawarma when I arrived here. During our grand opening, there was a line down the block. People are waiting to try Shawarma from Scott, the guy from nowhere. I saw a lot of love, a lot of welcome. I get there.